Mount Rushmore

There were a number of interesting things to take pictures of on the way to Mount Rushmore so I've split the last part of Custer State Park from here.

Sooo, we left Custer and drove the 20 miles toward Rushmore. The drive was very cool with 4 tunnels blasted through rock and a surprise view of Mount Rushmore. If we had come from another direction, we would have missed these great tunnels, wonderful curved bridges made with timbers and the early sneak peak of Rushmore.

We followed directions to Rushmore from Custer and were pleasantly surprised to go around these "cork-screw" bridges that were at the end of the rock tunnels. It's hard to see the curve on this bridge and details but they were all made of timbers and super strong. Quite often when you are on a bridge you can feel some sway but on these we didn't even know it was a bridge until the road immediately curved us around underneath. Very cool look and construction!

This was one of the rock tunnels. You would round a turn and 'boom' there it was. There was no height warnings until you actually got to the tunnel. That's a little disconcerting for those hundreds of RV haulers we saw all over the place!

This was a tribute to the man who constructed all the roads in Custer State Park, Peter Norbeck, and was placed half way down the back road toward Rushmore. It was a nice, scenic plaque. At the other side of the parking lot was a scenic overlook too.

Before going through each tunnel, you were instructed to sound the vehicle horn to warn the other traffic you were making a run for it. This was the last tunnel and people were walking around taking pictures. So what's the big deal, it's a nice, one-way at a time, tunnel.

Oh ho! Look what you see as you go through! We totally weren't expecting this. Needless to say we pulled over and joined the other picture takers on the road.












It's still quite a ways off but I don't think you can get more dramatic! As we recovered from this wonderful shock, we traveled on and soon came to the base of the mountain.

 This sweet family of mule deer were on the road up to the monument. Mom was very careful to look both ways and wait for the cars to stop before stepping out. I think she's done this before!

Of course the park was closed so we joined the dozens of cars parked on each side of the road, and the people who were up on the adjacent hillside, snapping pictures furiously. There was even a tour bus with most of the Chinese occupants up on the same hill. A Ranger came down the road slowly, went below all the cars and bus, turned around, put on his lights, got out of the car and waved his arms almost like a salute, got back in the car and drove back up the street. The bus people ran for the bus and it left. The rest of us took our time.

After we did a U-turn in the middle of the road to leave the area we drove to the first town just a few miles down the hill. The town is Keystone and I quickly spotted the public restrooms and had Bob pull over. He was facing a sign for a beautiful hotel while I was gone and we conferred and decided to check it out. We could have gone another hour down the road, but it just felt right.







We got a good, off season, rate at the White House Hotel, had a good meal and got to walk around the town. Several stores and restaurants are closed for the season now, but it looks like a great place to stay and play if you ever pass through. When we left the hotel in the morning, they already had 26 cancellations due to the park closure.

This is the bar in BarLee's restaurant we ate dinner in. It was full of antique looking furniture and wall hangings as well as metal sculptures made by a local father and son team. All in all, it was a very fun day.